Review and photos by Derek Mau

Settling for second place has never been Porsche’s mind set. Porsche has a long list of podium finishes on and off of the racing circuit. In 1948 Porsche scored a first place finish at Innsbruck Stadtrennen with the 356, the first sports car to bear the Porsche name, only one month after it was road certified. Fast forward to 1984 for another notable first - Porsche, with the 911 Carrera 4×4, marks its first victory in the Paris–Dakar Rally. At Porsche safety is just as important as winning races. Porsche becomes the first car maker in Germany to equip all production models with an airbag for driver and front passenger as standard equipment. Now it seems that Porsche has taken the gold again in the form of a limited edition GT Silver Metallic Boxster, the RS 60 Spyder.

I was given the opportunity to test drive the RS 60 Spyder at the home of Porsche’s Sport Driving School (PSDS), Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama. In my opinion, the race track is the best place to put the RS 60 through its paces without scaring the natives on public roads. As an added bonus, I had legendary racer and lead PSDS instructor, Hurley Haywood, show me the race line at Barber Motorsports Park.

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HERNDON, Va.—Volkswagen of America, Inc. today announced that buyers of the Jetta TDI sedan and SportWagen are eligible for a $1,300 Federal Income Tax Credit. The Internal Revenue Service has issued a certification letter affirming that the vehicles qualify for the Advanced Lean Burn Technology Motor Vehicle income tax credit.

“The $1,300 tax credit provides an even greater value to the upcoming Jetta TDI sedan and SportWagen,” said Mark Barnes, COO, Volkswagen of America, Inc. “Our clean diesel vehicles offer consumers the fuel efficiency that they’re looking for while providing power, utility, performance, safety and excellent value.”

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Linda Brennan of Montpelier, Vt. Wins Ultimate Fan Prize: Boston Red Sox Special Edition Volvo C30

Red Sox Foundation and Volvo team up in charity raffle, raising $1.4 million

IRVINE, Calif. (July 29, 2008) - Linda Brennan, Boston Red Sox Foundation and Volvo Cars of North America raffle winner, now owns the ultimate 2007 World Series Championship collectible: The Boston Red Sox Special Edition Volvo C30.

Volvo and the Red Sox Foundation hosted the raffle to raise money for children and families in need across New England. Brennan took home the C30 during Saturday’s Red Sox versus Yankees game at Fenway Park.

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By Alex Kramer

Pros:

• Excellent ride quality
• Snappy new exterior style
• Upscale interior design
• Spacious front seats

Cons:

• Tepid acceleration
• Hefty 3800 lb curb weight
• Less than hybrid worthy fuel efficiency
• Marginal rear legroom and smallish trunk

2008 has been a tough year for American auto manufacturers. Faced with high gas prices and strong competition from overseas, sales have plummeted, especially in the traditionally lucrative light truck and SUV segment. Much like in the 1970’s, the pain at the pump has driven consumers to smaller, more efficient models, many of which are made in Japan. Although the Big Three already have some fuel efficient compacts and hybrids for sale, or in the works, is it too late to convince the American consumer that Honda and Toyota aren’t the only ones meeting the MPG challenge?
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By Kirk Bell

Pros and Cons

• Lots of features for the dollar
• Powerful engines
• Luxurious interior
• Capable handling
• Plenty of front and rear seat room

• No split folding rear seat
• No steering wheel paddles
• Limited seat adjustments
• Ride can be bouncy
• Pricey for a Hyundai

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The very first Plug-In Conference was held in San Jose, Calif. (7/22/2008 - 7/24/2008), to showcase the latest technological advances, market research, and policy initiatives shaping the future of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). The three day conference brings together automotive manufacturers, component suppliers, electric utilities, government agencies, universities, and the environmental community to address the most current technical research surrounding PHEVs, the impact of current policies and regulation, and clean-tech entrepreneurs’ ideas to enhance and expand the PHEV market.

PHEVs offer one of the most promising near-term strategies for substantially reducing transportation-related greenhouse emissions and our dependency upon fossil fuels for transportation purposes. PHEVs are hybrids with a much larger battery pack that can be plugged into a 120-volt outlet allowing them to travel greater distances solely on electric power.

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We visited the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum located on the grounds of Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama. For anyone remotely interested in motorcycle history and Lotus race cars, the Barber Vintage Museum hosts one of the largest motorcycle collections in the world. George Barber (no relation to Skip Barber) has collected almost 1,400 motorcycles and has the largest collection of Lotus race cars in the world. The building itself is a 80,000 square foot modern steel, concrete, and glass structure that contains five floors of over 500 motorbikes and Lotus race cars on display. The facility also has a complete metal workshop and restoration capabilities so that almost anything can be fabricated and restored to mint condition.

The collection now has over 1,300 vintage and modern motorcycles and as well as a substantial collection of Lotus and other race cars. It is considered the largest collection in North American. There are approximately five hundred motorcycles on display at any given time. These bikes range from 1904 to current-year production. There are bikes from 16 countries that represent 143 different marques. The common street bike is represented, as well as rare one-off Gran Prix race machinery. Bikes have been purchased from as far away as Australia, New Zealand, and Sweden, but also as close as down the street.

(picture slideshow of my museum tour at then bottom of the article)

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By R. Myint

Pros

• Handling
• Power
• Styling

Cons

• Cargo Capacity
• Lack of rear hitch
• Fuel mileage

Recipe for adventure:

Take 3 adults 3 bikes, and 3 days of mountain biking in Downieville, California. Add biking gear, camping gear and 2 full coolers. Place all items in the Ultimate Driving Machine, the BMW X5, and shake well. Cook the X5 over miles of freeway and twisty mountain roads for 6 hours and enjoy. Repeat as necessary for a fulfilling sensation that is tasty as a warm chocolate chip cookie fresh from the oven.
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Review and photos by Gary Chan

Pros

• Handling prowess
• Smooth power delivery
• Utility (63-cubic feet of useful space!)

Cons

• Front performance seat hard to dial in
• Notchy shifter with high effort
• Limited rear visibility

Introduction
Over the past two years, there were two cars that I read about in the car magazines that I eagerly awaited; neither was exotic or expensive, but hopped-up versions of cars you’d see every day commuting to work. More specifically, the MAZDA3 and Chevy HHR. I’ve driven the Mazdaspeed3 and now I had the chance to drive the Chevy HHR SS. I was not disappointed.
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The exclusive high-performance coupé for the discerning motorist

Mercedes-Benz unleashes their SL 65 Black Series that turns out an eye-popping 670 hp and 737 lb-ft of torque from a 6 liter V12 twin turbocharged motor. Only 200 units are designated for U.S. shores, so get in line now. Don’t forget to bring your checkbook. The price tag for the SL 65 Black Series is $320,000.

Equally impressive is the SL 65’s power-to-weight ratio of 6.17 lb/hp. Similar in performance, but can be had for less than $300k, is the Ferrari 599 GTB Fioranio with a power-to-weight ration of 6.00 lb/hp. If you like numbers, the 599 GTB Fiorano cranks out 620 hp and 448 lb-ft of torque from a normally aspirated 6 liter V12. The Ferrari 599 seems like a bargain at $270,000. Does it become a question of which one to choose or do the two marquees attract their own loyal fellowship?

Following is the official press release and more photos of the SL 65 from Mercedes-Benz (Editor)

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By Holly R.

Pros:

• Decent mileage
• Acceleration is reasonable at speed
• Pretty stylish looking
• Looks roomy
• XM® Satellite Radio
• OnStar (Standard for ONE YEAR)

Cons:

• Not a lot of storage in the main cabin
• Battery takes up too much room when the seats are folded down for trunk over-spill
• Little noise reduction (despite what’s advertised)
• The switch from gas engine to battery mode and back again is not seamless
• The mileage was decent, but not what I’d expect from a hybrid (some non-hybrid cars get better mileage)

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Recombinated

by John Matras

Modelers have a name for it: kit-bashing. It’s when parts from different model kits are combined to make something new. That’s exactly what BMW did to create the X6. Sorta.

BMW refers to the new 2008 BMW X6 as a Sport Activity Coupé (note the accent), much as it calls the X3 and X5, despite being sport utes, Sport Activity Vehicles. Compared to the body-on-frame construction typical of SUV’s when the X5 arrived, giving the X5 its own classification just seemed like the right thing to do. Besides, BMW simply couldn’t produce anything so prosaic as an SUV. What would the world be coming to?

What the world came to is the new BMW X6.

The BMW X6 is based on the X5’s SAV platform, shares the same suspension but with a slightly wider track. BMW describes the front suspension as a “double track control arm configuration applying the double joint principle for dynamic lateral acceleration, superior tracking stability and minimization of those forces acting on the steering wheel.” That’s hard to argue with.

The rear set up is a multilink arrangement designed to isolate suspension forces from the drivetrain while maintaining correct camber for optimum roadholding. If that’s a little too complex without a picture, it’s sufficient to say that BMW designed and built the suspension. It does exactly what it’s supposed to do.

Read more… (Click the link to read the full review of the BMW X6 on the Examiner.com)

By Francis Cebedo

Pros:

• Good, distinctive exterior styling
• Excellent interior design and build quality
• The 300 hp V6 engine is a great balance of power and efficiency
• Handling is very capable
• GPS system is the one of the best we’ve used to date
• Clean and powerful audio system
• UltraView sunroof is a very nice touch
• It is an excellent family car with luxurious room for four

Cons:

• Rear window visibility is limited
• Accelerator pedal is very heavy
• Steering is not tight and responsive enough
• The car feels heavy when cornering

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By Holly R.

• Head-up display is a gem, and should be included on every single car in the U.S.
• Given it’s size (and mine) I had no trouble at all seeing out of the car, on ANY side
• Bluetooth® is really easy to program
• Brilliant use of the interior space for cubbyholes and storage spaces
• X5 is really fun to drive and the 350hp 4.8L V8 engine is a monster
• The V8 has its disadvantages however: gas mileage was really bad @ 14.6 mpg
• The seats had nice features, but I was unable to get comfortable in them
• Given it’s size, the interior size seemed much smaller than it should be
• Whoa! Sticker shock if you choose all the options

First Impressions:
I actually had quite a few first impressions. “Oh my God, it’s gorgeous.” “Wow, I get to drive a BMW!”. “This is a really BIG vehicle!”, but nothing compares to actually driving one. The X5 4.8i has a snarling 350-horsepower V8 engine, yet it’s stylish, technologically advanced, sexy and has some really great features. At first I thought it was snarling at me (it sounded like it was growling when accelerating), but I found it was actually snarling at the other cars on the road. “Pass me, I dare you.”
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CEOs plug in to the future;

Get behind the wheel of 100 mpg car

SAN JOSE, CA (July 8, 2008) – Tired of $4 gas? Plug in! Get 100 miles per gallon. Save gas. Save money. Cut pollution. Fight global warming.

The Silicon Valley Leadership Group would like to put you behind the wheel of a plug-in hybrid car – eventually at least. As a start, on Monday, July 21, five Valley CEOs and executives will take possession of their new plug-ins, which they are purchasing through a program initiated by the Leadership Group to demonstrate the value of these cars to their drivers and the environment. The CEOs will each get a converted Toyota Prius at a news conference outside the San Jose McEnery Convention Center, a day before the start of a three-day international conference on plug-in hybrids.

Event: Five plug-in hybrids delivered to Silicon Valley CEOs and executives
When: 1 p.m. Monday July 21
Where: Plaza in front of the San Jose McEnery Convention Center, 150 W. San Carlos Street

To jumpstart the plug-in market, the Silicon Valley Leadership Group hopes to sign up 100 people to have a conventional Toyota Prius converted to a plug-in, with the addition of a larger battery pack and a plug. Twenty-five potential owners are already on board, and the first five owners will talk about their cars on July 21.

Because they run exclusively on electricity a greater percentage of the time than conventional hybrids, plug-ins can average 100 miles per gallon — a fuel cost of 4 cents per mile, with gas at $4 a gallon. For a car getting 25 mpg, the fuel cost is 16 cents per mile.

The news conference not only highlights a valuable initiative by the Leadership Group, it also offers a good story, with visual elements, to lead into a discussion of the important international conference on plug-in hybrids over the following days.

# # #

Sent on behalf of the Plug-In 2008 organizers.
Silicon Valley Leadership Group
224 Airport Parkway, Suite 620
San José, CA 95110